Toddlers shouldn’t eat too much sugar, but it’s nice to have a treat every once in a while. If it’s been a while since you’re have a family dessert night, consider making a sundae bar.

What You Need
Toddlers can’t always make their own sundae, but with a little help from mom and dad, you can help them create their very own personalized ice cream treat and enjoy it over a movie. The best thing about ice cream sundae bars is that it’s relatively inexpensive and it’s entirely customizable. Your basic ingredients will be:
•    Ice cream
•    Chocolate
•    Caramel sauce
•    Nuts
•    Sprinkles
•    Whipped cream
•    Cherries

You can also do extra fun things too liked chopped candy bars or gummy bears and gummy worms. Lay out all of these ingredients in small bowls and have everyone in your family go through the assembly line to get their dessert. Again, for toddlers, you will want to help scoop the ice cream and monitor how many toppings they have. Even a small bowl of ice cream can seem like a big treat when you get to use fun toppings.

Give Your Toddler Choices
If you have the toppings where your toddler can reach, allow them to carry their own bowl and apply their own toppings. However, you will want to help them pour the chocolate or caramel because if they spill, you’ll have a sticky goopy mess to clean up.

Though there is a pretty standard list of toppings you can choose from, consider also adding some relatively healthy options as well. Fresh fruit and berries make for great sundae toppers. Some of the best fruit and berries to go on top of ice cream are:
•    Bananas
•    Mangos
•    Raspberries
•    Blueberries
•    Pineapple
•    Strawberries
•    Peaches
•    Nectarines

 Also, instead of ice cream, you can use frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt has fewer grams of sugar and 100 grams of frozen yogurt has 57 fewer calories than ice cream. For lactose intolerant toddlers and adults, try Breyers lactose free ice cream, Soy Delicious, or even Rice Dream. Usually, these brands have fewer calories and at least a few grams less sugar.

Chessman, K. (2012, June 1). Make a family sundae bar. Parenting RSS.